2b.
Energy use and Climate change

The large scale combustion of fossil fuels, which have been going on since the beginning of industrialization around 1750, has led to massive emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In addition, changes in land use, especially deforestation, have also contributed to large emissions of carbon dioxide. Estimations are that 1200 Giga tonnes of CO2 have entered the atmosphere in this way, almost all of it since 1900, and at a rate which is still increasing (about 32 Gt was emitted in 2008). Emitted carbon dioxide is partly dissolved in the world’s oceans. This reduces the content in the atmosphere, but also makes the ocean water more acidic. This is a threat to the world’s coral reefs and much marine biodiversity.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has been carefully monitored since 1958 at a research station in Hawaii. It was 392 ppm (parts per million) in 2011. The concentration has increased from pre-industrial levels of about 280 ppm. The contribution from fossil fuel combustion can be estimated from the C14 content of atmospheric CO2, since there is no C14 in the fossil carbon. Through measurements of ice cores from the Antarctica and other data, we have estimations of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere since about 800 000 years. At no time during this period it was as high as it is today.

Carbon dioxide is a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and contributes to the so-called enhanced greenhouse effect of the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide absorbs heat and radiates it back, and thus increases the temperature of the planet. A greenhouse effect has already increased the planet temperature some 35 degrees due to already present GHGs (mostly water) that is why the effect caused by CO2 is called “enhanced”.

Other greenhouse gases which contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect, include methane with 21 times higher radiative forcing than CO2, nitrous oxide N2O, and CFCs also called freons. Even if these three GHGs, also emitted from society, have a much larger effect, they are emitted in smaller volumes and have a shorter half-life in the atmosphere (they are broken down to CO2 and other components). Thus, CO2 with a very long half-life is the most serious one. If all GHGs are included according to their contributions recalculated as CO2 equivalents, we have today about 420 ppm CO2e (e stands for equivalent).

The Climate of our Earth is of extreme importance to all life. It is studied by Climate sciences. The global temperature is the result of a balance between several factors. Basic is solar irradiation to the planet and heat radiation from the planet, but these simple factors are modified by several other parameters. Clouds increases temperature, snow and ice cover reflects sun (the albedo effect) and reduce temperature, while GHGs increases temperature. There is a variation of sun irradiation due to sun cycles and astronomic parameters (e.g. resulting in ice ages), a contribution from geothermal heat due to radioactive decay, and reduction of sunlight by volcanic ash after eruptions etc. Temperature distribution is critical for precipitation patterns, and the amount of water bound in glaciers decides ocean water sea levels.

An increase of the temperature of Earth due to the massive emissions of carbon dioxide has been predicted since long. We also observe that the planet is getting warmer. Compared to average temperature during the first half of 20th century, we have globally about 0.8 degrees warmer climate today. The 13 warmest years recorded have occurred during the last 15 years. This extra heat is not distributed equally on the planet. In general, the far north and south have a larger climate effect. The higher CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is expected to result in at least 2 degrees warming by mid-century, and up to 4 degrees warming by the end of the century. This will have dramatic consequences. (Compare the temperature difference between an ice age and the present, which is about 5 degrees.)

Global warming has a number of effects, many of them already observed and some expected in the future. Extreme weather events will be stronger and come more often. This includes heat waves, tornados, hurricanes, storm, floods and draughts. In general, wet areas will be wetter and dry areas drier. The social, economic and environmental consequences of these are serious. Thus, the particularly hot year of 2003 in Europe had an additional 30 000 casualties due to heat. Agriculture will change, and harvests decrease in some areas (and increase in others). Hurricanes, storm, and floods in densely inhabited areas destroy infrastructure and property for immense values.

Global warming can also be noted as reducing glaciers all over the planet, the melting of the Arctic winter ice, melting of the ice gap of Greenland and reduced glaciations of Antarctica. As all this ice become ocean water, the sea level is expected to increase by some 1–2 meters above present at the end of the 21st century. The Arctic summer ice may be gone by 2035, and the Canadian Arctic Ocean coast, the Northwest Passage, start to be used for ship transport.

There will also be large consequences for ecosystems, which all are very climate dependent. Thus, warmth-craving southern species (including insects being vectors for diseases) will move north while northern species (e.g. polar bears) become marginalized or disappear. Some of these effects are already painful. Crops have to be adapted to a different climate and in some areas' irrigation will be problematic.

Climate scientists build models of climate and climate change, assuming different scenarios for future developments. Although observing the ongoing changes do not need any models, we need models for understanding causes and predicting future changes. These models predict a very dramatic development if not emission of carbon dioxide and other GHGs ends. Especially they are concerned with so-called positive feed-backs, e.g. when ice cover reduces there will be less albedo (reflection) and this will increase temperature. Melting the Siberian permafrost releases large volumes of methane, which is a strong GHG. A number of such feedbacks have been identified. The models can to an extent predict changing temperatures and precipitation on the regional level. The Baltic Sea region is in a fairly good situation, although e.g. the environmental problems of the Baltic Sea are likely to get worse.

The public debate on global warming has been intense for many years, and those denying what have been described here have had a large exposure. These climate deniers either deny that there is a global warming at all, or that this warming is due to what we did in society (especially combustion of fossil fuels) and argue that there are other reasons, such as increased solar radiation. These opinions are typical for non-scientists, at least non-climatologists. Among the experts, e.g. in the research literature, there are only very few among thousands who question the established picture, even if in some cases there may be good reasons to do so. For examples, data on historical temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations are all indirect and can be interpreted differently, but the picture described above has support from a large majority. Among non-scientists, it appears that especially those who are facing and not prepared to accept the very threatening consequences of the global warming take denial as a way out.

Obviously, the costs for the damages caused by extreme weather events are tremendous. From this point of view, it would be better to invest in mitigation (reducing climate change) than paying for the consequences. The respected World Bank economists Sir Nicholas Stern after an extensive expert study reported to the British government on the costs of climate change and the costs of mitigation and estimated that 1% of the GDP should be used for mitigation measures, rather than waiting for higher costs for impacts later on. The world has not followed his advice.

Materials for session 2b

Basic level

1. Read the introductory part of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, IPCC, 4th assessment report. See also the Sixth Assessment Report.
2. European Environmental Agencies report on global temperature changes.
3. The Climate Change Collection in Encyclopedia of the Earth.
4. Wikipedia: List of CO2 emissions by country.
5. How Do Carbon Dioxide Concentrations in the Atmosphere Affect Global Climate? Part I, Part II, Part III (YouTube films)
6. Watch 131 Years of Global Warming in 26 Seconds (Climate Central Video), see also Global Change 1850 - 2020 (YouTube film)

Medium level (widening)

7. Read on Climate modelling at the website of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
8. Read on the effects of Climate Change (IPCC, 5th AR).
9. Look at how science is responding to the arguments of the so-called sceptics.
10. Look at how sceptics are responding to the arguments of science.

Advanced level (deepening)

11. The Stern Report on the economic costs of climate change.

References

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007. Climate Change, 2007 - The Physical Science Basis: Working Group I Contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007. Climate Change 2007 - Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Working Group II contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007. Climate Change 2007 - Mitigation of Climate Change: Working Group III contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC.

Stern, N. 2007. The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review.

BUP Sustainable Development Course

2c.
Climate policies

The general understanding that the global climate will be influenced by emissions of carbon dioxides from combustion of fossil carbon is old, and a first estimation of the size of the effect (fairly accurate!) was published by Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius in 1896. As use of oil, coal, and gas increased, scientist got worried and in 1988 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed by the World Meteorological Association (WMO) and UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) to study and follow the development. IPCC is coordinating and reporting on the research of thousand of scientists. The assessment reports, the most recent is no 4 from 2007, summarizes the collective understanding of climate change and its consequences as well as projections into the future under different assumptions. In the summary for policymakers in AR4, we read that 1) warming of the climate system is unequivocal. 2) Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely (>90%) due to the observed increase in anthropogenic (human) greenhouse gas concentrations.

Based on these insights, the 1992 UN conference in Rio de Janeiro (UNCED) negotiated and signed a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The convention went into force in 1994 when 50 states had ratified. Today 194 states are parties to the convention, that is, all states on Earth take part. The objective of the Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations "at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system." The convention asks for mitigation (reduction) of climate change, but there is also adaptation to climate change mentioned.

President Barack Obama briefs European leaders, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, EU President Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, and Danish Prime Minister Lars L. Rasmussen, following a multilateral meeting at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dec. 18, 2009. Photo by Pete Souza.

The activities under the convention are negotiated at Conferences of the Parties (COPs), mostly organized yearly. At the 1997 COP3 in Kyoto, Japan, a Protocol, a detailed plan of the actions required by each party of the convention, was signed. The Kyoto Protocol contains binding targets for 37 industrialized states and the European Community (so-called Annex 1 countries) to reduce GHG emissions by 5% compared to the 1990 levels for the five-year period 2008-2012. Developing nations (Annex 2 countries) did not have obligations according to the Protocol. Rules for implementing the Kyoto Protocol were adopted at the COP7 in Marrakesh in 2001. The Protocol entered into force in 2005 after Russia had signed. Of the major emitters, USA has not entered the Protocol (meaning that the total target decreased to 4.2% reductions), while Australia with a new government joined in 2008 and Canada left in 2012.

What we need is no less than a transition to a fossil fuel free world, but it is far away. It is well understood that the reductions of emission required by the Kyoto Protocol is very far from sufficient to mitigate (combat) climate change as it only covers some 15% of the global emissions, and obligations are limited. Business as usual, if nothing is done, will lead to very dangerous interference with the climate system. In 2011 emissions are still increasing. China and India are increasing their use of fossil fuels rapidly, and the USA remains on a very high level. Efforts to establish a global agreement on the reduction of emission of GHGs have been on the agenda of the COPs since long. The 2009 COP15 in Copenhagen was set up to reach an agreement, but failed. The so-called Copenhagen Accord only says that the goal of the convention is to keep temperature increase within 2 degrees, but no commitments. The 2011 COP17 in Durban again aimed for an agreement, but ended with the so-called Durban Package, a roadmap for how to work for an agreement to be implemented in 2020. This time, all states signed, but it does not contain any binding commitments on reductions of emissions. At the COP18 in Doha in 2012 the parties to the Kyoto Protocol agreed to a second period 2013-2020 with a total reduction of 18% below the 1990 levels for the Annex 1 countries. Objections from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus may change this. The establishment of a Climate fund, to cover costs for developing countries to adapt to climate change, was agreed.

Due to emissions trading, coal may become a less competitive fuel than other options. Coal power plant in Datteln (Germany) at the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal. Photo: Arnold Paul

The European Union states divided the Kyoto obligations of reduction of emissions between themselves unequally, depending on economy and level of emissions. Based on the COP3 in Kyoto, the EU established a cap and trade system for CO2, called European Trading System, ETS. In this system a number of major European industries, presently about 11 000, have been given allowances (rights) to emit specified amounts of CO2. Those emitting more have to buy additional rights and those, which can reduce their emissions, may finance the costs of the investments needed by selling emission rights. These are sold and bought in a stock market, just like shares. In 2010 the price for the right to emit 1 ton of CO2 was about 13 Euros, but it has since then declined. The ongoing second trading period started in 2008 and will end in December 2012. The third trading period, 2013-2020, will include more GHGs, especially methane and nitrous oxide, more sections especially air traffic, and reduced allowances of emission rights. The so-called Clean Development Mechanism, CDM, which allows Annex 1 parties to count emission reductions from investment in developing countries, will also continue.

EU's climate and energy policy nicknamed 20-20-20 became legally binding in 2009. It includes 20% reductions of CO2 emissions compared to 1990 levels, 20% renewable energy, and 20% less primary energy (the energy efficiency goal) compared to projected levels all by 2020. Allowances of the 3rd period of ETS will be set to achieve the emission reductions. EU has offered the other parties of the Climate Convention to increase its levels to 30% reduction of emissions “if others do the same”, an offer not accepted by anyone. It appears that both levels are insufficient to keep global warming within the 2-degree target even if everyone joined; EU only accounts for just above 10% of global emissions.

Each country in the EU as well as outside has its own climate and energy policy to prepare the country for a post peak oil world and mitigate climate change. For this, it uses different policy tools. Especially relevant for climate mitigation are actions taken to increase the share of renewables, and the taxation on carbon dioxide emissions. In the first category belong state subsidies to support change of heating system, to encourage energy efficiency, e.g. insulation of buildings, or energy efficient cars. Germany’s feed-in tariffs offer to buy electricity from all private producers at a fix price, which stimulate investments. Sweden has high carbon dioxide taxation, about 10 eurocent per kg, which makes other fuels than oil and coal more attractive.

Not only international policies, but also market forces and security concerns, contribute to the transition to a fossil fuel free world. As investments in renewable energy improve and become competitive, the emissions will decrease for economic reasons. Secondly, energy security concerns will push counties to reduce their dependency on imported fuels from abroad and politically less dependable countries. Today we see an increasing number of nations, local communities and households investing in local and renewable energy supplies to increase energy security and avoid unpleasant economic surprises.

Materials for session 2c

Basic level

1. Climate and Society, a ppt presentation by Lars Rydén.
   Climate Existence Seminar on Resources
2. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC.
3. European Union climate policy and the ETS
4. Understanding the COP17 UN Climate Talks – in 3 minutes (YouTube film)
5. The EU Renewable Energy Targets

Medium level (widening)

6. Read The Unbalanced Carbon Cycle – a global problem by Christian Azar and Göran Berndes. In: Man and Materials flows – Towards sustainable materials management.
   
   A Sustainable Baltic Region, Session 3: Man and Materials Flow
7. Read pages 6-17: Climate economics – the state of the art, Stockholm Environment Institute.
8. Carbon Cycle and Global Warming (YouTube film)

Advanced level (deepening)

9. Study in some detail Germany’s climate policy (two documents):
   Document 1
   Document 2
10. Study in some detail Sweden’s climate policy.
11. Select another country to study its climate policy.
12. Conversations with History: Lars-Erik Liljelund (YouTube film, 55 minutes)

References

Karlsson, S. (ed.) 1997. Man and Materials flows – Towards sustainable materials management. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

BUP Sustainable Development Course

2d.
Energy management strategies

Transport of electrical energy

Main users of energy in our societies are the transport sector, the building sector and food production. Several countries have in addition some energy intensive industries. Our first question is how much energy do we really need for these purposes? This is the issue of energy sufficiency. At present energy use is close to 100 times the metabolic energy (everyday food for one person), even if it varies quite much between countries, sectors, and individuals. Even if energy is necessary, it may be used more efficiently. Energy efficiency is as well a key task in energy management.

New Williamsburg, Brooklyn house following German Passiv Haus construction standards, for energy efficiency and air tightness.

The building sector has been very successful in reducing energy needs. The most efficient houses today are the passive houses. These use much less energy (15-25%) for heating and sometimes even have their own supplies of electricity and hot water. Passive houses have efficient insulation, heat exchanger for ventilation, and use heat from persons and machinery. Even if passive houses are not common, low energy houses start to be so. These are slightly more expensive to build, but much less expensive to use. Also, retrofitting of present buildings is possible and profitable. As an example, energy use in the building sector in Sweden could, according to the sector, be reduced by 20% with profitable investments. This figure is probably large also in other countries in the region.

The food sector has several shortcomings which lead to energy wasting. Food waste is large (some 20-30% of edible food) in many places. This can be reduced by simple means, such as better planned shopping, proper storage and taking care of leftovers. This refers both to producers, retailers, and households/restaurants. Different food has very different carbon footprints. Meat production is by far the most energy consuming, while vegetables and potatoes are much less so. But the trend in our societies is that meat consumption is increasing; 80% of the crops on our farmland are used for animal feed. Denmark has five times more pigs than people. Less meat consumption is an important step to reduce energy needs.

A German ICE high-speed trains leaves the Schellenberg-tunnel at the Nuremberg-Munich high-speed track.

The transport sector is by far the most difficult to improve. It is also the only sector where energy consumption is increasing and fossil fuels dominate. The first concern is to reduce travelling. For example, many meetings may be replaced by video conferencing. Secondly, improving public transport is a main concern, especially in cities, to reduce the role of the private car. Here we also see an important technical development. New biofuels, such as biogas, biodiesel, and bioethanol are introduced. But in the longer term electricity should be introduced since the electric motor is at least 4 times better than the combustion engine for mechanical work; train and tram is even better since rail requires less energy than tyres. Of course, the value of such changes depends on how electricity is produced. Finally, air traffic increases much; at present the environmental impacts of air traffic, including emissions, are not paid by the sector and there is a need for economic reforms. In the end, lifestyle changes are needed. We simply have to travel differently and less.

There are many ways to deal with energy management. A general rule is that demand management is better than supply management. Thus, much work is done today to reduce energy use in the consumption phase. Low energy light bulbs, especially LED lighting, are 5 to 10 times more efficient than conventional bulbs. As lighting uses about 28% of electricity in an average household, a fivefold reduction is important. It is also important that machinery such as freezers, washing machines etc is energy efficient. Standby should be avoided, and simple rules, like not lighting garages and toilets when nobody is there, contribute much. In the EU, new directives supporting these changes are introduced.

On the supply side, the main task is to move from fossil to renewable energy. As already has been described (See Session 2a)  this is ongoing in all countries. At present, Sweden has the highest share of renewable energy in the EU, about 49%, followed by Finland and Latvia. The main reasons are good supply of hydropower and much increased use of biomass.

In the industry sector, there are many good examples of energy efficiency programs, although much is left to be done. The pulp and paper industry, which is a high energy user, use the cellulosic fibres for producing paper while the lignin in the wood is turned into black liquor, a highly alkaline dark “soup” with a very high energy content. It is used for energy purposes in some factories, e.g. turned into biodiesel, but this could be much improved. The cement industry is using much energy and also emits carbon dioxide from the process itself (heating calcium carbonate). Building in wood, including multi-store houses and some other constructions, is now improving very much and some traditional uses of cement should be possible to replace. Such a change includes several energy efficiency steps from transport to the building site, the construction itself and maintenance of the building.

Proper waste management saves much energy. Thus, it costs about 6 times less energy to produce steel from scrap iron compared to virgin ore, a figure that is 30 times for copper and 50 times for aluminium. Recycling paper saves energy as cutting trees is reduced and the production itself saves energy. Household waste incineration (waste to energy step) may provide about 5% of energy in a country.

In general, both industries and households are reluctant to invest in energy improvements, even if the investments are profitable and money is saved in only a few years. Policies for supporting such investments are thus important. These include taxation on energy as well as subsidies for investments, or loans on good conditions. Several management systems are available for energy improvements. These include Environmental Management Systems, EMS, such as ISO 14001, but since December 2011 a certifiable international standard for energy management has been released, the ISO 50001.

Materials for session 2d

Basic level

1. Basics of energy management
2. Read chapter 6, pages 104-112: Energy Conservation in: Cleaner Production – Technologies and Tools for Resource Efficient Production.
   
   Environmental Management, Book 2: Cleaner Production, Chapter 6: Energy Conservation
3. What is a passive house? (YouTube film)

Medium level (widening)

4. Read Passive and low energy houses, Passive house development in Sweden and the world.
5. Learn about energy efficient driving, green fuels and electric cars.
6. Reduce Food Wastage – Save Energy and Save Money
7. Electric cars take off in Norway (YouTube film)

Advanced level (deepening)

8. The Swedish Energy Authority programme for Energy investments and efficiency in industry
9. Learn about Energy Performance Contracting (building sector).
10. Get to know the ISO 50001 certifiable energy management standard
11. Study energy performance in the pulp and paper industry. In: Cleaner Production – Technologies and Tools for Resource Efficient Production.
    
    Environmental Management, Book 2: Cleaner Production Practices
12. Study energy performance in the cement industry. In: Cleaner Production – Technologies and Tools for Resource Efficient Production.
    
    Environmental Management, Book 2: Cleaner Production Practices
13. Climate Change – Viewpoints from the Pulp and Paper Industry (YouTube film)

References

Nilsson, L., Persson, P. O., Rydén, L., Darozhka, S. and A. Zaliauskiene. 2007. Cleaner Production – Technologies and Tools for Resource Efficient Production Environmental Management Book 2, Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

Rydberg, T. and Haden A. 2005. Energy quality and net energy – how we value different kinds of energy.

Stern, N. 2007. The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. Cambridge University Press.

EU Climate Position Paper.

BUP Sustainable Development Course

3a.
History of resource flows

World consumption, 2003 (click to enlarge)

Sustainable development is about how we – humanity – can live on the resources that our planet provides for us. Therefore, the study and understanding of resource flow and resource management is the core of sustainability science. Our resource consumption has increased over the entire history of mankind, but the planet is the same, not any bigger. How can we as humanity adjust to the resources available to us?

The American historian John McNeill undertook to write a global environmental history for the 20^th century. He started assuming that the environmentalists were exaggerating. Yes, there were environmental problems, but there has always been. “Nothing new under the sun” he told them when he started his project. But when he published he had changed his opinion and the title of the book became “Something new under the Sun”. Not surprising! During the 20^th century, the human population had increased 4-fold. In addition, the economy per capita had also increased 4-fold. Thus, the resource use on the planet had increased about 16-fold during 100 years. Obviously it cannot go on like that.

The change was much faster in the end of the century than in the beginning. In fact, increase was most often measured in percent of the previous year! If this percentage growth is constant, we have exponential growth! This means constant doubling time. This gets very soon out of hand. Exponential growth may be illustrated by anything from the number of McDonalds restaurants in the world to the consumption of paper.

In Western Europe, the strongest resource growth was after WWII, roughly between 1955 and 1975. During less than one generation resource consumption increased almost 3-4 fold for very many products: metals, fertilizers, fossil fuels etc. During this period, our societies went from fairly sustainable to affluent societies, affluent meaning with a large resource flow.

Resource consumption in Western Europe 1750 – 2000

It is also during this period that the landfills (rubbish piles) of Europe increased tremendously! Around 1980 concern grew about what to do with the mountains of household waste. This was due to an increasing linear resource flow. The resources went from extraction to production, consumption, and waste in a straight line! It is simply a recipe for resource wasting! To make this more sustainable, we need to have cyclic resource flow. Recycling is an important part of sustainable development (See further Chapter 5c).

The huge increase in resource consumption was especially serious for non-renewable resources. For these there is a finite amount and when used up they are emptied. Most typical are the fossil fuels coal, oil, and gas. But all metals are non-renewable, and so is phosphorus. The extraction of these resources will come to a peak, after which production declines. Peak oil is the point in time when oil will be scarcer. It is happening about now. Peak phosphorus is the time when phosphorus production will decline, a few decades in the future.

Typical is that the accumulation of the end product from using the resource becomes a problem long before the resource is emptied. Thus, the accumulation of carbon dioxide from combustion of fossil carbon is one example, since global warming is caused by carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Accumulation of phosphorus in the environment leads likewise to the problem of eutrophication. Non-renewable resources are further discussed below at Chapter 3c.

Also for renewable resources the consumption has been increasing steeply. Renewable resources are typically plants and animals with a specific reproduction time. If harvest is faster than reproduction, the resource may be destroyed or emptied. An example is fish. Ocean fishing increased about 40 times during the 20^th century. It is more than the reproduction rate of the big fish. Today, about 90 % of the big fish in the oceans have been removed by fishing. A number of ocean fish species are threatened by extinction due to over fishing.

In addition to having a value by itself (see Chapter 6a) biological life on the planet in its whole is a resource for humankind as food and in many other ways. The very fast reduction of biodiversity can be seen as the destruction of a renewable resource almost entirely due to human society. It is dramatically illustrated when the early human killed, cooked and ate the last individuals of the European megafauna, mammoth. The European Bison almost faced the same destiny. See further Chapter 6a.

A process of similar kind is loss of organic topsoil, which is disappearing several hundred times faster than it is formed. This also contributes to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Loss of topsoil happens when the organic material of this black soil is exposed to the oxygen of the air and oxidizes. It may be due to too much tilling of soil, too much draining of wetlands and when soil erodes by wind or water. The process leads to desertification. (See further Session 6a). Topsoil forms slowly as growing plants are composting and rock is weathering.

Loss of forest, deforestation, is also a loss of a renewable resource as it is used faster than it regenerates. Especially, the tropical forest is shrinking at an alarming rate. Loss of forest leads to loss of biodiversity, loss of carbon to the atmosphere and loss of future possibilities to harvest timber and all other products of the forests.

Materials for session 3a

Basic level

1. Read Man and Materials Flows in: Man and Material flows. A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 3.
   A Sustainable Baltic Region, Session 3: Man and Materials Flow
2. Read Nature’s Turnover of Materials in: Man and Material flows. A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 3.
   A Sustainable Baltic Region, Session 3: Man and Materials Flow
3. Read chapter 2: How the Environment Works – Turnover of matter and energy in: Environmental Science.
   Environmental Science, chapter 2: How the Environment Works – Turnover of Matter and Energy

Medium level (widening)

4. Read pages 17-28: Society and its Products in: Product Design and Life Cycle Assessment.
   Environmental Management, Book 3: Society and its Products
5. Read pages 39-52: Resource Flow and Product Design in: Product Design and Life Cycle Assessment.
   
   Environmental Management, Book 3, Chapter 2: Resource Flow and Product Design
6. Read chapter 9, pages 259-266: A New Regime for Nutrient Turnover – Eutrophication in: Environmental Science.
   
   Environmental Science, Chapter 9: A New Regime for Nutrient Turnover – Eutrophication
7. Read chapter 12, pages 359-362: Metal Flows and Environmental Impact in: Environmental Science.
   
   Environmental Science, Chapter 12: Metal Flows and Environmental Impact

Advanced level (deepening)

8. Read The Valuable Metals in: Man and Material flows. A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 3.
9. Read Nutrient Flows and Environmental Threats in: Man and Material flows. A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 3.
10. Read The Unbalanced Carbon Cycle – A global problem in: Man and Material flows. A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 3.
    
    A Sustainable Baltic Region, Session 3: Man and Materials Flow

References

Karlsson, S. (ed.). 1997. Man and Materials Flows. A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 3. Baltic University Press. Uppsala, Sweden.

McNeill, J. R. 2001. Something New Under the Sun. An environmental history of the twentieth-century World. W. W. Norton & Company.

Rydén, L., Migula, P. and M. Andersson (eds). 2003. Environmental Science – understanding, protecting and managing the environment in the Baltic Sea region. Baltic University Press. Uppsala, Sweden.

BUP Sustainable Development Course